Overview of the Contribute permission level in SharePoint 2013

Summary: Learn about the Contribute permission level in SharePoint 2013.

You should be aware that the Contribute permission level, which enabled certain web file and Web Part functionality in SharePoint 2007 products and technologies requires a different permission level in SharePoint 2010 Products and in SharePoint 2013.

Web files enable you to implement various customization options for a web page. Web files can contain scripts (for example, JavaScript) that can call web services and interoperate with data on a site. Web files are stored as a modifiable list, based on their file name extensions.

A member of the Farm Administrators group can use Windows PowerShell cmdlets to configure web files that have the following file name extensions:

.ascx

.aspx

.asmx

.master

.jar

.swf

.xap

.xsf

.xsn

SharePoint 2007 products and technologies enabled users who have the Contribute permission level to perform various tasks that now require the Add and Customize Pages permission. The tasks that require the Add and Customize Pages permission in SharePoint 2010 Products and in SharePoint 2013 include the following:

Update the content of a web file

Move a web file

Upload a web file

Rename a web file

Publish, migrate, import and export a web file

Users with the default Contribute permission level in SharePoint 2013 can perform the following tasks:

SharePoint 2007 products and technologies enabled users who have the Contribute permission level to add or edit Web Parts that developers have marked as unsafe for editing. To add or edit Web Parts that developers have marked as unsafe for editing, SharePoint 2010 Products users and SharePoint 2013 users must have the Add and Customize Pages permission.

By default, the following Web Parts are marked as safe for editing and can be added or edited by users who have the default Contribute permission level: